Context:

• At least 35 people in Goa have tested positive this year for the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), or the ‘monkey fever’, a health official said.

About KFD:

• KFD, referred to as Makad Taap in local language, is a tick-borne viral hemorrhagic fever endemic to South Asia. The virus is transmitted to human beings through parasitic ticks which latch on to monkeys.
• The disease was first detected in 1957 at the Kyasanur forest in Karnataka’s Shimoga district, and was later named after the place.
• The KFD infection, which starts with high fever and bodyache, results in hemorrhage, similar to that in dengue. People already suffering from kidney, heart and liver related issues are more vulnerable to KFD infection.
• Both human beings and monkeys are victims of the disease, but once a monkey gets infected with the tick bite, it generally dies. The mortality rate in monkeys is very high as compared to human beings.

Source:IE